First the cabin: Cabin 2475 should NEVER be booked!!!! We booked a "guaranteed oceanview cabin", and Carnival assigned us to 2475 (a 6B level cabin); located on the rear "corner" of the ship. The cabin appeared nice enough, although a little noisy (which we expected). On the 2nd day, the engine speed changed & the vibration & noise became nearly unbearable. In addition, EVERYTHING rattled: lamps, lights, pictures. The final straw occurred when our drain backed up & we lost our hot water. We called guest services & were told it would be 20 minutes. We had to call back several hours later when we returned to the cabin & the problem wasn't fixed. We called guest services & were moved to another cabin that same night. On a brighter note, our Cabin Stewart "Teal" was wonderful!!!

The cruise itself was decent, & the ship really didn't seem to be showing its age too much. The shows were fun, but definitely not Vegas quality. The casino on the ship is still pretty smoky. The ports of call were all pretty good. Cozumel is always fun. The Mahogany Bay Beach, walking distance from where the ship docked, was a welcome surprise. The tender procedure at Belize was slow, and even slower at Grand Cayman. At Cayman, the departing tender waiting area was full (as were the steps and hallways nearby), and yet the cruise director was still calling more people down. It took some guests over 2 hours to get on a tender. Waiting in line to tender back to the boat took us an hour. Communication needs to improve on the ship. Minor changes could significantly improve the cruising experience.

We chose "anytime dining" and would do so again. We were always seated promptly, & the flexibility helped keep our schedules relaxed & worry-free. Dining room service was hit-or-miss. The pacing of the meals was erratic, with some dinner services taking more than 1.5 hrs. One night we even had an entrée served prior to our appetizer. The quality of the food was generally very good. The chef's take on frogs legs, escargot, & several other items was definitely unique. We noticed that Carnival does not enforce their dress code for dinner; as we saw cut-offs, tee shirts, and flip flops nightly. Read more